


Upon Your Sleeve

by lakesandquarries



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-18 08:17:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5912041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lakesandquarries/pseuds/lakesandquarries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written as a birthday present. Prompt given: </p>
<p>"a thing were sans is very obviously distressed and Not Willing To Talk About Anything so pap goes a vents to undyne<br/>bc the world need more morail undyne/paps"</p>
<p>Thus: Sans and Papyrus get into an argument. Papyrus decides to talk to Undyne. Title from "Flaws" by Bastille.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upon Your Sleeve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aqua_arcs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aqua_arcs/gifts).



"For the last time," Sans says, pushing Papyrus out of the room, "I don't want to talk!" He slams the door shut.

"Sans?" Papyrus calls, trying to reopen the door. It had been a simple question, just Papyrus asking his brother if he was hungry - he hadn't left his room all day - and it had spiraled into a shouting match.

He didn't know what he'd done wrong. He hadn't meant to nag, he was just worried about his brother. That was natural, wasn't it? Anyone would be worried when their sibling stopped leaving their room, stopped remembering to eat, stopped making bad jokes or drinking ketchup or any of the weird things Sans normally liked to do.

Now all Sans did was lie in his room and feel sad. 

He just wanted to _help_. They were on the surface, now, after all. He didn't understand why Sans seemed even sadder than he was Underground. Every day Sans seemed worse and worse, and Papyrus didn't know how to help, and it _hurt_.

There had to be something he could do, someone who could help him. _Undyne,_ he thinks. Undyne always knew what to do, after all, and maybe all Sans needed was some time to himself? He gives knocking one more try.

There's no response, so Papyrus heads back to his room, sending off a quick text to Undyne.

_"IS IT ALRIGHT IF I COME OVER?"_

Undyne responds almost instantly.

_"yeah sure"_

She texts again a moment later. _"want me to pick you up"_

Papyrus shudders. Undyne, shortly after moving to the surface, had bought a motorcycle. And she drove it _everywhere._ Papyrus' own car is currently having work done, but the idea of riding on Undyne's motorcycle, with its tiny seats and loud motor combined with Undyne's recklessness, terrifies him.

_"I CAN WALK"_

_"if you're sure. see ya"_

He taps on Sans' door. "I'm going over to Undyne's," he announces. There's no reply, so he leaves without another word.

It's a gorgeous day out. The sun is high and the sky is clear and everywhere he looks he sees trees and flowers and birds and _happiness_. He doesn't understand how Sans can stand to stay in his room all day when the world outside is so impossibly beautiful.

It's not a long walk to Undyne's, fifteen minutes at the most, and he does his best to enjoy it. He likes walking, normally, likes the wind against his face and the sun on his bones and looking at all the different scenery he passes. Right now, though, all he can think of is how his brother is missing all this.

He doesn't bother knocking when he gets to Undyne's. She never locks the door when she knows he's coming over. He lets himself in, yelling out "I'm here!" as he does so. Undyne's sliding down the stairs and tackling him before he can even blink.

"Mettaton and Al are out today, so it's just the two of us," she tells him, pulling him into the living room. "Which means we can do whatever you want. Video games, cooking, what're you up for?"

"I...kind of just wanted to talk," he says, sitting down on the couch.

"Oh," Undyne says. "Uh..." she sits down next to him, looking unsure. "Is....Is everything okay?" she asks. 

"....Not really," he says, after a moment. "I - I had a fight with Sans. This morning."

"About?"

"He just - all he ever does is sit in his room and be sad. He barely even comes out to eat. I'm just - I'm worried about him. And I tried to tell him that and he told me not to worry, he'd be fine, but he's not fine! He's not fine at all, and I don't know how to help. I thought being on the surface would make him feel better, but if anything he's worse, and everything I do to try and help just makes him more upset. I just feel so...useless." God, and now his eyes are getting watery.

"C'mere," Undyne says, pulling Papyrus closer to her, placing his head on her shoulder. "I mean....Sans's been having issues for a long time, right? Just cause he's on the surface doesn't mean whatever was making him sad before is gonna magically go away. Unless the thing making him sad was the barrier. But I'm guessing that's not it."

"I don't even know what it is," Papyrus says gloomily.

"Look, Papyrus...it's not your job to make him happy. Your job is to make sure you're happy. Sans...Not all issues can be solved with hugs and speeches, Pap. I mean - I love Alphys, but love doesn't make all your problems vanish. It just makes them more manageable. What Sans needs...honestly, he probably needs a therapist."

"I...I'll talk to him about that," Papyrus says, sitting up.

"And, hey, I'm sure your support means a lot to him. So you're not useless, okay?"

"Okay," he says.

"Something's still bugging you," Undyne says. She takes his head in both hands and studies him.

"Undyne?" he questions.

"Shhh," she says.

"What are you doing?"

"I saw something like this in an anime," she explains, which only makes him more confused.

Finally she releases his face. "It's not just Sans, is it? Something's on your mind."

"It's nothing," Papyrus says quickly. Undyne raises an eyebrow. Papyrus sighs. "I just....I feel so...out of place, on the surface. Everywhere I go I get stared at. Or people will randomly touch me without asking. Or ask very personal questions. I thought that being on the surface would mean making new friends, but...no one seems to want to be friends with me, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Without warning, Undyne, pulls Papyrus' head into her lap, and starts stroking his skull.

"You're not doing anything wrong," she says. "They just...They're probably scared off by how cool you are."

"What exactly are you doing?" Papyrus asks.

"Oh, uh....I do this to Al when she's having a bad time. Thought it might work here too.

"It...does feel nice," Papyrus admits. "But - If I'm not doing anything wrong, why don't people want to be friends with me?"

"I mean...Look, Pap, you're a little intense, y'know? Not everyone can handle your enthusiasm. And, I mean, humans are always weirded out by monsters at first. It's nothing wrong with you. And if anyone says otherwise, I'll kick their ass." She pauses, continuing to stroke his skull. "Maybe we could....I dunno, maybe Mettaton could help you? I'm in kinda the same boat as you."

"Really?"

" _Apparently_ , humans don't have flattery suplexes," Undyne says.

"Undyne, the only person who performs 'flattery suplexes' is you."

"Well, there's the problem."

Papyrus lets out a laugh at that, turning so he can see Undyne.

"Thanks," he says, quietly.

"Anytime," Undyne says. "I mean...You're important to me, Papyrus. I don't like seeing you sad." She pauses. "I love you," she says, though the sweetness of her words is soured by the immediate addition of "No romo."

"I love you too," he says. "No romo."

Undyne grins at him, wide and full of teeth. "You're a huge nerd, though," she adds, before pushing him off the couch. Papyrus sits up, glares, and gives her a weak push back.

"Oh, it’s on," Undyne says.

The wrestling match that ensues will go down in history as the most intense battle between a skeleton and a fish, ever (or at least it would if anyone had been around to witness it). Spears are thrown, bones are rattled, couch cushions are stolen to be used as shields. By the time Alphys and Mettaton are home, the two are lying in a heap on the floor, spears and bones embedded in the walls and couch cushions ripped open under their heads.

("Worth it," Undyne says later.

"Stop destroying the house," Alphys says.)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday!!!


End file.
